Written Answers Monday 14 April 2008

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that local residents affected by the selling of surplus land in the run-up to Glasgow 2014 will be fully involved in the disposal process.

Stewart Maxwell: The acquisition or disposal of land in Glasgow in relation to the 2014 Games is a matter for Glasgow City Council, which has statutory responsibilities in this respect.

  However, the Scottish Government is keen that people across Scotland have an opportunity to help shape a positive legacy from the games. Consultation on Glasgow 2014 - Delivering a Lasting Legacy for Scotland was launched on 15 February 2008. The consultation document is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/glasgow2014legacy and the deadline for written responses is 9 May 2008. A series of public meetings throughout Scotland is being planned for May and June 2008.

2014 Commonwealth Games

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that local communities will be represented on bodies charged with the delivery of Glasgow 2014.

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how local residents may apply to be considered for representation on the bodies charged with the delivery of Glasgow 2014.

Stewart Maxwell: The delivery of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and the group structure to support that work, is a matter for the Glasgow 2014 Organising Company.

Alcohol Misuse

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 or over have been prosecuted in each of the last three years for supplying alcohol to those aged under 18, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selling Alcohol to Underage Persons1 by Age2 and Approximate Local Authority Area3, 2003-04 to 2005-06

  

 Local Authority Area
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 under 18
 18 and over
 under 18
 18 and over
 under 18
 18 and over


 Aberdeen City 
 -
 2
 -
 -
 -
 3


 Aberdeenshire
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Angus
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Argyll and Bute
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Clackmannanshire 
 -
 -
 -
 3
 -
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 -
 2
 1
 2
 -
 6


 Dundee City 
 -
 5
 -
 -
 -
 -


 East Ayrshire 
 -
 3
 -
 5
 -
 4


 East Dunbartonshire
 -
 -
 -
 2
 -
 -


 East Lothian 
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 2


 East Renfrewshire
 
 
 
 
 
 


 Edinburgh, City of 
 -
 3
 -
 5
 -
 5


 Eilean Siar
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Falkirk 
 -
 4
 -
 2
 -
 4


 Fife 
 -
 5
 -
 1
 -
 -


 Glasgow City 
 -
 3
 -
 7
 1
 6


 Highland 
 -
 -
 -
 1
 -
 2


 Inverclyde 
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Midlothian 
 -
 -
 -
 2
 -
 1


 Moray 
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 North Ayrshire 
 -
 1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 North Lanarkshire 
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1


 Orkney Islands 
 1
 2
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Perth and Kinross 
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 1


 Renfrewshire 
 -
 5
 -
 3
 -
 -


 Scottish Borders 
 -
 -
 -
 2
 -
 4


 Shetland Islands 
 -
 -
 -
 3
 -
 -


 South Ayrshire 
 -
 4
 -
 -
 -
 9


 South Lanarkshire 
 -
 1
 -
 8
 -
 17


 Stirling 
 -
 2
 -
 3
 -
 2


 West Dunbartonshire
 -
 2
 -
 -
 -
 1


 West Lothian
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Scotland
 1
 46
 1
 49
 1
 69



  Notes:

  1. Where this is the main offence. Includes the offences of Sale of drink to person under 18 and Wholesaler selling liquor to person under 18, the figures do not include those prosecuted for the offence of proxy purchase under section 68(3) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976

  2. Excludes a small number where age is unknown.

  3. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authority areas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

Alcohol Misuse

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been prosecuted in each of the last three years for illegally selling alcohol, broken down by local authority area.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.

  Persons Proceeded Against for Selling Alcohol Illegally1 by Approximate Local Authority Area2 2003-04 to 2005-06

  

 Local Authority
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Aberdeen City 
 3
 -
 3


 Aberdeenshire 
 1
 1
 -


 Angus
 -
 -
 -


 Argyll and Bute
 -
 -
 -


 Clackmannanshire 
 -
 3
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2
 3
 6


 Dundee City 
 6
 -
 -


 East Ayrshire 
 4
 8
 6


 East Dunbartonshire
 -
 2
 -


 East Lothian 
 -
 -
 2


 East Renfrewshire
 -
 -
 -


 Edinburgh, City of 
 3
 5
 8


 Eilean Siar
 -
 -
 -


 Falkirk 
 5
 2
 4


 Fife 
 5
 1
 -


 Glasgow City 
 4
 7
 7


 Highland 
 -
 1
 2


 Inverclyde 
 1
 1
 -


 Midlothian 
 -
 2
 2


 Moray 
 3
 -
 -


 North Ayrshire 
 1
 -
 -


 North Lanarkshire 
 -
 -
 6


 Orkney Islands 
 3
 -
 -


 Perth and Kinross 
 -
 1
 1


 Renfrewshire 
 5
 5
 -


 Scottish Borders 
 -
 3
 4


 Shetland Islands 
 -
 3
 -


 South Ayrshire 
 4
 -
 11


 South Lanarkshire 
 2
 8
 18


 Stirling 
 3
 4
 3


 West Dunbartonshire
 2
 -
 1


 West Lothian
 -
 -
 -


 Scotland3
 57
 60
 87



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authority areas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

  3. Includes courts which could not be mapped to approximate local authority areas.

Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women who drink above the recommended daily guidelines for the consumption of alcohol suffer from depression.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.

Alcohol Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the overall financial cost of alcohol misuse is, defined by healthcare, social work, criminal justice, emergency services, and wider economic costs in terms of working days lost through alcohol-related absenteeism.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-5468 on 31 October 2007. No updated figures are available.

  Fuller details on the estimates can be found in Cost to Society of Alcohol Misuse in Scotland: An Update to "Alcohol Misuse in Scotland Trends and Costs" (Scottish Executive, 2005).

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking with police forces to deal with the conduct of parents whose children are caught underage drinking.

Shona Robison: This is an operational matter for chief constables. Whilst specific procedures vary across each force, the interests of the child are always paramount and every effort is made to support parental responsibility. At a strategic level, we are developing a longer term approach for tackling alcohol misuse in Scotland and will publish our proposals for consultation before summer 2008.

Alcohol Misuse

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol-related admissions of under-18-year-olds there were to the accident and emergency department of Ninewells Hospital in NHS Tayside in each of the last four years.

Shona Robison: Information held centrally on attendances at accident and emergency departments does not include the diagnosis of the patient. However, information held on hospital discharges includes information on whether a patient was admitted to hospital with an alcohol-related diagnosis as an emergency.

  The following table sets out this information for those under 18 years of age at Ninewells Hospital, for each of the years 2003-04 to 2006-07. These figures are likely to be an undercount as not all those who attend an accident and emergency department will be admitted to hospital.

  Number of Discharges1,2,3 from Ninewells Hospital in NHS Tayside for Patients Aged Under 18 Years with an Alcohol-Related Diagnosis4 (Emergency Admissions Only), 2003-04 to 2006-07

  

 Financial Year
 Number of Discharges


 2003-04
 62


 2004-05
 57


 2005-06
 70


 2006-07
 53



  Notes:

  1. Caution is necessary when interpreting these figures. Where alcohol misuse is suspected but unconfirmed it may not be recorded by the hospital.

  2. Information on patients discharged from acute non-obstetric, non-psychiatric hospitals is available from the Scottish Morbidity Record, SMR01.

  3. Information in the table is based on date of discharge (rather than date of admission) because the SMR01 dataset is a discharge summary record.

  4. Alcohol-related conditions are defined by using the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10): Alcohol-related conditions: F10, R780, Y90, Y91, Z637, Z811, Z864, Z714, Z502, T506, Y573, T510, T519, X45, X65, Y15, O354, Q860, P043, Z721, Z133, G621, G721, K860, I426, K70, K292, G312 & E52.

Alcohol Misuse

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10120 by Shona Robison on 29 February 2008, whether it will issue guidance to NHS boards on the expenditure of their share of the additional £85 million allocated to tackle alcohol problems and, if so, what the priorities set out in that guidance will be.

Shona Robison: We wrote to NHS boards on 20 March 2008 setting out details of allocations for public health topics, including alcohol misuse, for 2008-09.

  The letter explained that first call on resources is to deliver screening for alcohol problems and brief interventions in line with a new NHS target, but that given the anticipated impact increased screening will have, we expect the majority of funding to be spent on commissioning treatment services in line with priorities identified through local Alcohol and Drug Action Teams, taking into account health inequalities.

Audiology

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the British Tinnitus Association has partially funded the post of a Senior Research Associate at the UCL Ear Institute in London and, if so, whether audiology services in Scotland will also be able to benefit from this research.

Shona Robison: The British Tinnitus Association is entirely funding a Senior Research Associate at the Ear Institute, UCL, London. The director has indicated to the Scottish Government that any benefit would accrue to all parts of the UK and confirmed the audiology services in Scotland will be able to benefit from this research. The Audiology Services Advisory Group (ASAG), which is responsible for advising the Scottish Government on audiology issues, includes the issue of tinnitus on its agenda.

Care of Elderly People

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has provided to local authorities on the provision of free personal care.

Shona Robison: Circular CCD 5/2003 consolidated earlier guidance on free personal and nursing care to local authorities, the NHS and other service providers. The circular provides guidance on implementation of the policy. In addition, further guidance on charges for food preparation issued on 24 September 2004 and 25 May 2006.

  Copies of the guidance documents are available at the Scottish Government web page:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/17655.

  The Independent Funding Review on Free Personal and Nursing Care, chaired by Lord Sutherland, is currently investigating both the level and distribution of resources to local authorities for free personal and nursing care. The review will not only look back at the previous allocations, but forward to how we deliver effective and sustainable long-term care for Scotland’s ageing population.

  We will consider the findings and recommendations of the review and the need for any further guidance when it reports on 28 April 2008.

Care of Elderly People

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have applied for free personal care (a) nationally and (b) in each local authority area and, of these, how many have had their care provided free of charge in each year since free personal care was introduced.

Shona Robison: Free personal and nursing care was introduced in Scotland through the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. Local authorities provide personal care services at home, without charge, to people aged 65 and over, or make payments for personal and nursing care to care homes for self funding residents assessed by their local authority as requiring that care. Local authority funded residents also receive personal care without charge.

  Information on the number of people who have applied for free personal care is not available. Table 1 provides information on the number of clients aged 65 and over who are receiving free personal care services at home in each year since 2002-03, broken down by local authority. Table 2 provides information on the number of long stay residents aged 65 and over who are receiving free personal care in care homes in each year since 2002-03, broken down by local authority.

  Table 1 – Number of Clients Aged 65+ who are Receiving Free Personal Care Services at Home (2002-03 to 2006-07)

  

 Local Authority
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Aberdeen City
 1,470
 1,470
 1,510
 1,590
 1,760


 Aberdeenshire
 1,050
 1,210
 1,320
 1,570
 1,810


 Angus
 720
 770
 800
 800
 790


 Argyll and Bute
 390
 480
 430
 340
 440


 Clackmannanshire
 250
 360
 370
 440
 480


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,380
 1,380
 1,380
 1,380
 1,380


 Dundee City
 650
 780
 800
 1,250
 1,200


 East Ayrshire
 510
 870
 1,030
 1,100
 1,250


 East Dunbartonshire
 400
 600
 710
 780
 830


 East Lothian
 710
 710
 740
 860
 880


 East Renfrewshire
 480
 540
 610
 710
 750


 Edinburgh, City of
 1,450
 1,970
 2,310
 2,450
 2,650


 Eilean Siar
 320
 420
 410
 450
 450


 Falkirk
 980
 1,040
 1,190
 1,190
 1,200


 Fife
 2,790
 3,200
 3,290
 3,290
 3,420


 Glasgow city
 3,140
 4,020
 5,260
 6,340
 4,810


 Highland 
 1,110
 1,400
 1,600
 1,840
 1,780


 Inverclyde
 820
 840
 920
 930
 1,050


 Midlothian
 220
 290
 320
 520
 520


 Moray
 610
 680
 590
 660
 760


 North Ayrshire
 660
 830
 960
 980
 1,000


 North Lanarkshire
 1,330
 1,670
 2,010
 2,900
 2,270


 Orkney Islands
 150
 180
 190
 190
 180


 Perth and Kinross
 320
 700
 950
 1,030
 1,010


 Renfrewshire
 630
 770
 820
 960
 1,010


 Scottish Borders
 710
 880
 1,040
 1,110
 1,040


 Shetland Islands
 170
 190
 190
 170
 180


 South Ayrshire
 1,100
 1,130
 1,190
 1,230
 1,330


 South Lanarkshire
 890
 1,100
 1,310
 1,790
 2,160


 Stirling
 360
 420
 430
 460
 450


 West Dunbartonshire
 430
 680
 590
 980
 1,010


 West Lothian
 1,140
 1,310
 1,070
 960
 970


 Scotland
 27,340
 32,870
 36,300
 41,240
 40,810



  Source: Quarterly Key Monitoring Survey, Scottish Government.

  Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest ten and are yearly averages.

  The 2002-03 figures are thought to be an undercount. Many local authorities could not provide figures straight away as systems were being put in place, so early figures were estimated.

  Table 2: The Number of Long-Stay Residents Aged 65+ who are in Care Homes and are Receiving Free Personal Care (2002-03 to 2006-07)

  

 Local Authority
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Aberdeen City
 1,670
 1,670
 1,640
 1,630
 1,630


 Aberdeenshire
 1,510
 1,460
 1,450
 1,450
 1,390


 Angus
 730
 740
 760
 710
 720


 Argyll and Bute
 660
 630
 620
 720
 720


 Clackmannanshire
 250
 250
 250
 260
 260


 Dumfries and Galloway
 820
 860
 820
 780
 800


 Dundee City
 830
 850
 910
 850
 820


 East Ayrshire
 720
 730
 700
 710
 690


 East Dunbartonshire
 500
 520
 530
 530
 540


 East Lothian
 550
 570
 580
 570
 570


 East Renfrewshire
 500
 450
 420
 400
 330


 Edinburgh, City of
 2,950
 3,030
 3,060
 3,040
 3,010


 Eilean Siar
 200
 190
 190
 190
 190


 Falkirk
 650
 660
 700
 720
 740


 Fife
 1,960
 2,000
 2,030
 2,060
 2,020


 Glasgow city
 5,030
 4,760
 4,570
 4,530
 4,530


 Highland 
 1,500
 1,420
 1,400
 1,440
 1,350


 Inverclyde
 640
 620
 610
 580
 540


 Midlothian
 520
 520
 490
 470
 470


 Moray
 460
 430
 540
 590
 550


 North Ayrshire
 870
 860
 850
 850
 830


 North Lanarkshire
 1,620
 1,550
 1,480
 1,410
 1,490


 Orkney Islands
 90
 90
 80
 100
 100


 Perth and Kinross
 1,170
 1,190
 1,170
 1,140
 1,070


 Renfrewshire
 960
 980
 1,040
 1,040
 1,070


 Scottish Borders
 750
 750
 750
 750
 740


 Shetland Islands
 110
 110
 110
 110
 110


 South Ayrshire
 760
 760
 780
 820
 820


 South Lanarkshire
 1,600
 1,630
 1,700
 1,670
 1,660


 Stirling
 550
 560
 540
 550
 520


 West Dunbartonshire
 520
 500
 550
 570
 510


 West Lothian
 590
 590
 580
 580
 600


 Scotland
 32,250
 31,890
 31,890
 31,810
 31,390



  Source: Quarterly Key Monitoring Survey, Scottish Government.

  Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest ten and are yearly averages.

  These residents may be mainly funded by their local authority or may be a self-funder receiving £149 or £216 per week towards their care home fees (until 31 March 2008, £145 and £210 respectively). All of these residents receive personal care services for free.

Community Service Orders

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what organisations have been consulted regarding the extension of Community Service Orders.

Kenny MacAskill: A series of bilateral and multilateral meetings between officials and a range of organisations covering the key interests in the community penalties field, were held over the summer of 2007. A full list of the organisations involved is set out at Annex B of Reforming and Revitalising: Report of the Review of Community Penalties , published in November 2007. The full report may be accessed on the Scottish Government’s publication web page at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications .

Concessionary Travel

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Edinburgh trams will offer concessionary travel.

Stewart Stevenson: No decision has been made so far.

Council Tax

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the changes to council tax benefits, announced in the UK Budget on 12 March 2008 and effective from October 2009, will have on household incomes in Scotland.

John Swinney: Approximately 7 per cent of households will be affected by the changes in council tax and housing benefit announced at Budget 2008. The average Scottish household’s income is estimated to increase by 35p a week during 2010-11 as a result of these reforms.

Defence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the volume and value of orders by the Ministry of Defence for procurement from Scottish companies, including orders for kilts and trews.

Jim Mather: The Ministry of Defence have confirmed that they have placed orders to the value of £950 million in 2005-06 (the latest year figures are available for) with Scottish companies. This figure covers both equipment and non-equipment orders. The MoD has placed an order for kilts with one Scottish company in March 2007 to the value of £1.2 million. The contract to supply trews was not awarded to a Scottish Company.

  The MoD also advise that they cannot break down the total number of contracts they have with Scottish companies due to the number of contracts involved. Any exercise to identify the country each contractor is based in would necessitate reviewing every contract and checking either with the branch who let the contract or tracking down the information by some other means; this would amount to disproportionate cost.

  Scottish companies may also receive subcontracts from other companies of which the MoD has no visibility.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the general dental services indicative allowance to NHS Tayside (a) has been in each year since 2004-05 and (b) will be in 2008-09, also expressed at constant prices.

Shona Robison: The general dental services indicative allocation to NHS Tayside since 2004-05 has been (also expressed in constant prices):

  

 Year
GDS Indicative Allocation £000
Allocation at Constant Prices (2006-07) £000


 2004-05
 17,569
 18,455


 2005-06
 18,166
 18,687


 2006-07
 18,525
 18,525


 2007-08
 18,850
 18,257


 2008-09
 N/A
 N/A



  The actual expenditure on general dental services for NHS Tayside since 2004-05 has been (also expressed in constant prices):

  

 Year
GDS Indicative Allocation £000
Allocation at Constant Prices (2006-07) £000


 2004-05
 17,208
 18,076


 2005-06
 17,882
 18,395


 2006-07
 19,898
 19,898


 2007-08
 N/A
 N/A


 2008-09
 N/A
 N/A



  Boards are fully funded for this expenditure therefore any differences between the indicative allocation and actual expenditure does not cause a problem for the NHS board.

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental students at the University of Glasgow applied for and received a dental bursary in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.

Shona Robison: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

 University of Glasgow
 Number of Students who Applied for a Dental Bursary
 Number of Students who Received a Dental Bursary


 2006-07 Session
 233
 233


 2007-08 Session to Date
 259
 258

Dentistry

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dental students at the University of Glasgow who received a dental bursary in their final year of study in 2006-07 are now in vocational training in Scotland, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: 58 dental students at the University of Glasgow who received a dental bursary in their final year of study in 2006-07 are now in vocational training in Scotland. A breakdown, by NHS board, is provided in the following table.

  

 NHS Board
 Number of Vocational Trainees


 Tayside
 2


 Forth Valley
 4


 Grampian
 3


 Fife
 2


 Lothian
 4


 Lanarkshire
 16


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 19


 Ayrshire and Arran
 6


 Highland
 1


 Dumfries
 1


 Total
 58

Drug Misuse

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10715 by Shona Robison on 17 March 2008, when it will have completed the task that it has set itself to "consider whether to establish a working group to develop guidelines" on the provision of needle exchanges.

Shona Robison: The Government will publish, in the coming weeks, the Hepatitis C Action Plan for Scotland: Phase II . The government’s decision on whether to establish a working group to develop guidelines on the provision of needle exchanges will be announced as part of that.

Fair Trade

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what activities it undertook during Fairtrade Fortnight 2008.

Linda Fabiani: I refer the member to the events mentioned in the answer to question S3W-11693 on 14 April 2008. The Scottish Government has provided support to the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to take forward the campaign for Scotland to achieve Fair Trade Nation status.

  The Scottish Fair Trade Forum receives core funding from the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund of £60,000 a year for three years. I was pleased to announce further funding of up to £40,000 from within the current financial year (2007-08) to assist the forum with awareness raising activities.

  This funding has enabled the Scottish Fair Trade Forum to take forward a number of initiatives during Fairtrade Fortnight including a reception at the Scottish Parliament and hosting a producer tour of Scotland by a Kenyan tea producer.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Fair Trade

Christina McKelvie (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ministerial involvement was in Fairtrade Fortnight 2008.

Linda Fabiani: I undertook a number of engagements to highlight Fairtrade Fortnight 2008. These events are listed below:

  

 Date
 Event
 Purpose


 Tuesday 26 February
 Visited Whitelees Primary School in Cumbernauld.
 To meet with pupils at Whitelees Primary School who have been involved in Fair Trade activities.


 Thursday 28 February
 Met with Julius Ethang’atha, Kenyan Tea Producer.
To meet local producer and discuss the benefits of Fair Trade.Mr Ethang’atha was undertaking a producer tour hosted by the Scottish Fair Trade Forum.


 Saturday 1 March
 Addressed the Fair Trade Experience in Glasgow.
 To deliver key note address and engage with Fairtrade businesses, producers and other stakeholders.


 Tuesday 4 March
 Attended a Fair Trade Coffee Morning with Scottish Government officials.
 To meet with officials engaged in Fair Trade raising awareness of Fair Trade across the Directorate.


 Friday 7 March
 Visited St Elizabeth’s Primary School in Hamilton.
 To meet with pupils at St Elizabeth’s Primary School who have been involved in Fair Trade activities.


 
 Participated in live phone in discussion on Lesley Riddoch Show on the subject of Fair Trade.
 To participate in live phone in and be part of panel discussion.


 
 Visited Thornlie Primary School in Wishaw.
 To meet with pupils at St Elizabeth’s Primary School who have been involved in Fair Trade activities.

Forensic Science

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether the Scottish Police Services Authority consulted the chief constables of the relevant police areas when preparing its business case for the merger of the forensic laboratories in Aberdeen and Dundee.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether the Scottish Police Services Authority consulted regional procurators fiscal in the relevant areas when preparing its business case for the merger of the forensic laboratories in Aberdeen and Dundee.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether the Scottish Police Services Authority consulted all relevant forensic service staff when preparing its business case for the merger of the forensic laboratories in Aberdeen and Dundee.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether ministers will consult chief constables of the relevant police areas when considering the business case submitted by the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether ministers will consult regional procurators fiscal when considering the business case submitted by the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether ministers will consult all relevant forensic service staff when considering the business case submitted by the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10509 by Kenny MacAskill on 6 March 2008, whether ministers will consult the general public prior to making a decision on the business case submitted by the Scottish Police Services Authority.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) has consulted interested parties including staff, unions, police authorities, Chief Constables and regional procurators fiscal about its proposal to build a new forensic laboratory in Dundee replacing existing facilities in Aberdeen and Dundee. The chief constables of both Grampian and Tayside Police are members of the SPSA Board and the Chief Constable of Northern Constabulary has also been consulted. There are no plans for the Scottish Government to carry out a separate consultation exercise in considering the business case which SPSA has put forward.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards have authorised the use of Lucentis for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

Shona Robison: The planning and provision of services is a matter for NHS boards. The Scottish Medicines Consortium has made recommendations regarding certain treatments for age-related macular degeneration. Lucentis was recommended for use in the NHS in Scotland for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration in May 2007. NHS boards are required to take full account of these recommendations in the planning and provision of NHS services.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are national targets for timescales for the diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

Shona Robison: There are no specific targets with regard to the diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration. The Scottish Government set targets from the end of December 2007 whereby all patients will be seen in an out-patient clinic within 18 weeks of being referred, and if an operation is required, all in-patients and day cases will be treated within 18 weeks of being placed on the waiting list. Patients should be assessed and treated in accordance with their clinical needs.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is investing in the infrastructure required to ensure the timeous diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

Shona Robison: The planning and provision of services is a matter for NHS boards. The Scottish Medicines Consortium has made recommendations regarding certain treatments for age-related macular degeneration. NHS boards are required to take full account of these recommendations in the planning and provision of NHS services.

Health

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides to medical professionals on the use of complementary therapies, such as diet control, to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Shona Robison: Diet control is not considered to be one of the complementary therapies. Accordingly guidance on diet control is not provided in this context.

  The Scottish Government recognises that complementary or alternative medicine may offer relief to some people suffering from a wide variety of conditions and leaves it open to NHS boards to provide these therapies based on their assessment of needs in their areas. Treatment options, based on individual care assessments, are a matter for clinical decision in consultation with all relevant professionals and the individual. Guidance to NHS boards in August 2005, available at http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/ drew further attention to this care option.

  Advice including dietary management regarding the treatment and care for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder sufferers is provided by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidance Network in SIGN 52 - Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorders in Children and Young People. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland has undertaken a review of the implementation of SIGN 52. The findings will be published on 25 April.

Health

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the number of cases in which the NHS has been guilty of clinical negligence in each year since 1997, providing details of compensation paid out in each year both nationally and by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following tables detail the numbers of clinical negligence cases that settled in the financial years 1996-97 to 2006-07.

  

 Health Board
 1996-97
 1997-98
 1998-99
 1999-2000
 2000-01


 Ayrshire and Arran
 15
 6
 6
 5
 11


 Argyll and Clyde
 30
 13
 14
 13
 14


 Borders
 0
 0
 2
 2
 2


 Dumfries and Galloway
 4
 2
 8
 7
 2


 Fife
 14
 10
 9
 8
 12


 Forth Valley
 11
 11
 9
 6
 15


 Grampian
 11
 13
 8
 11
 19


 Greater Glasgow
 22
 32
 48
 43
 42


 Highland
 2
 9
 5
 6
 6


 Lanarkshire
 15
 9
 10
 8
 10


 Lothian
 31
 11
 24
 29
 23


 Orkney
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Shetland
 2
 2
 0
 2
 2


 Tayside
 12
 20
 10
 14
 16


 Western Isles
 1
 0
 0
 1
 2


 State Hospital
 0
 1
 0
 0
 0


 Management Executive
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Common Services Agency
 0
 0
 1
 1
 0


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Totals
 170
 138
 154
 156
 176



  

 Health Board
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Ayrshire and Arran
 10
 12
 8
 9
 8


 Argyll and Clyde
 14
 13
 13
 13
 14


 Borders
 1
 3
 1
 5
 5


 Dumfries and Galloway
 10
 10
 9
 7
 11


 Fife
 9
 8
 16
 12
 10


 Forth Valley
 9
 9
 11
 12
 7


 Grampian
 17
 13
 11
 11
 18


 Greater Glasgow
 37
 45
 40
 45
 43


 Highland
 11
 7
 5
 5
 6


 Lanarkshire
 8
 22
 14
 19
 14


 Lothian
 23
 26
 20
 21
 25


 Orkney
 1
 0
 0
 1
 1


 Shetland
 3
 25
 6
 1
 0


 Tayside
 10
 13
 19
 20
 14


 Western Isles
 2
 1
 0
 1
 0


 State Hospital
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Management Executive
 0
 0
 1
 3
 5


 Common Services Agency
 0
 0
 1
 1
 0


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 1
 0
 0
 0
 1


 Totals
 166
 207
 175
 186
 182



  

 Health Board
 2006-07


 Ayrshire and Arran
 5


 Argyll and Clyde
 1


 Borders
 2


 Dumfries and Galloway
 5


 Fife
 9


 Forth Valley
 13


 Grampian
 9


 Greater Glasgow
 38


 Highland
 2


 Lanarkshire
 19


 Lothian
 19


 Orkney
 0


 Shetland
 2


 Tayside
 10


 Western Isles
 0


 State Hospital
 0


 Management Executive
 65


 Common Services Agency
 0


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 0


 Totals
 199



  The figures for the Management Executive relate to claims that were funded centrally by the Scottish Executive.

  Details of the sums paid out as a result of these claims are given in the tables below.

  

 Health Board
1996-97 (£)
1997-98 (£)
1998-99 (£)
1999-2000 (£)


 Argyll and Clyde
 419,658
 664,445
 1,813,659
 98,228


 Ayrshire and Arran
 306,200
 32,000
 191,630
 40,000


 Borders
 0
 0
 30,000
 69,500


 Dumfries and Galloway
 132,826
 63,000
 96,122
 133,614


 Fife
 82,293
 106,313
 71,588
 95,900


 Forth Valley
 1,067,005
 208,750
 27,300
 27,865


 Grampian
 277,462
 64,900
 59,280
 405,383


 Greater Glasgow
 1,037,783
 1,273,310
 832,731
 498,734


 Highland
 9,600
 415,200
 55,500
 266,345


 Lanarkshire
 90,872
 78,650
 84,300
 99,698


 Lothian
 380,967
 270,109
 1,412,009
 698,103


 Orkney
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Shetland
 14,340
 57,702
 0
 2,664


 Tayside
 161,322
 211,169
 160,182
 250,500


 Western Isles
 65,000
 0
 0
 30,000


 State Hospital
 0
 1,000
 0
 0


 Management Executive
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Common Services Agency
 0
 0
 8,000
 82,000


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Totals
 4,045,328
 3,446,548
 4,842,301
 2,798,534



  

 Health Board
2000-01 (£)
2001-02 (£)
2002-03 (£)
2003-04 (£)


 Argyll and Clyde
 91,550
 265,519
 1,646,830
 270,041


 Ayrshire and Arran
 158,263
 828,865
 671,399
 230,561


 Borders
 12,500
 5,000
 20,110
 13,650


 Dumfries and Galloway
 407,500
 701,116
 362,019
 219,097


 Fife
 276,005
 46,416
 123,346
 492,449


 Forth Valley
 434,007
 292,525
 117,954
 2,518,400


 Grampian
 190,655
 176,250
 77,250
 195,063


 Greater Glasgow
 982,284
 2,894,857
 2,970,119
 1,477,009


 Highland
 40,600
 220,276
 182,581
 1,319,464


 Lanarkshire
 746,336
 51,480
 406,282
 569,846


 Lothian
 242,962
 838,057
 1,933,643
 879,507


 Orkney
 0
 5,500
 0
 0


 Shetland
 5,150
 7,700
 78,345
 10,200


 Tayside
 1,925,552
 138,354
 98,150
 105,163


 Western Isles
 104,990
 5,500
 2,500
 0


 State Hospital
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Management Executive
 0
 0
 0
 5,000


 Common Services Agency
 0
 0
 0
 50,000


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 0
 0
 3,000
 0


 Totals
 5,618,354
 6,477,415
 8,693,528
 8,355,450



  

 Health Board
2004-05 (£)
2005-06 (£)
2006-07 (£)


 Argyll and Clyde
 1,219,641
 173,008
 27,500


 Ayrshire and Arran
 234,702
 152,750
 31,000


 Borders
 157,580
 91,042
 315,739


 Dumfries and Galloway
 116,027
 198,171
 103,853


 Fife
 364,306
 106,000
 153,802


 Forth Valley
 553,359
 288,023
 4,356,183


 Grampian
 912,877
 413,811
 195,238


 Greater Glasgow
 1,258,443
 3,510,983
 5,358,963


 Highland
 159,490
 1,807,122
 2,459,120


 Lanarkshire
 282,778
 239,500
 457,415


 Lothian
 442,323
 58,747
 7,192,974


 Orkney
 29,120
 6,332
 0


 Shetland
 2,000
 0
 29,000


 Tayside
 2,460,005
 603,380
 426,289


 Western Isles
 1,500
 0
 0


 State Hospital
 0
 0
 0


 Management Executive
 39,000
 58,000
 327,500


 Common Services Agency
 10,000
 0
 0


 Scottish Ambulance Service
 0
 500
 0


 Totals
 8,243,151
 7,707,369
 21,434,576

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how the £40 million allocated for obesity issues will be spent.

Shona Robison: An obesity action plan providing details of how the Scottish Government will be investing £56.5 million, of which £40 million is newly allocated to this area, over the next three years in initiatives dedicated to tackling obesity, healthy eating and physical activity will be published later this spring.

Health

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Executive has considered the use of local anaesthetic during male circumcision procedures.

Shona Robison: The potential use of local anaesthetic to carry out circumcision was considered at a seminar in Glasgow on 16 November 2006 attended by representatives of the Muslim community, the Jewish community, paediatric surgeons, and other clinical interests. The clinicians present explained that it was not considered clinically appropriate to carry out circumcision using only local anaesthetic.

  To reach a consensus between safe and acceptable medical practice and the religious needs of the communities, the seminar concluded that NHS circumcision for religious reasons should be carried out in hospital, under general anaesthetic as soon as possible after a male child reached six months old. Following further joint work, a letter issued to NHS Board Medical and Nursing Directors on 12 February 2008 outlining arrangements for the provision of this service and enclosed information leaflets for staff and parents.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS boards in relation to issuing guidance to relatives when hospital wards are closed as a result of potential acquired infection.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance is issued to relatives regarding the use of gloves, aprons or masks when decisions are taken to close hospital wards as a result of potential acquired infection.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government consulted all NHS boards on its NHSScotland Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection  (HAI). The code of practice sets out the responsibilities that NHS boards have for delivering safe clinical care through ensuring high standards of hygiene in the healthcare environment, including the provision of information to patients and relatives on healthcare associated infection. The code of practice does not prescribe how such information should be disseminated to patients or relatives, or what the exact content should be: that is a matter for each NHS board to decide.

  To support the information in the code of practice, the Public Involvement and Communications Team’s (PICT), a participatory member of the Scottish Government’s HAI multi agency task force, produced an HAI Public Information Strategy for NHS boards. Their strategy was sent to all chief executives of NHS boards on 20 March 2008 to set out how PICT considers that information on HAI could be best conveyed to the public and to set the benchmark for how good quality HAI information should be produced.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering asking NHS boards to undertake in-house laundry of contaminated personal items when hospital wards are closed.

Nicola Sturgeon: All NHS boards currently follow the guidelines set out in the Department of Health Circular HSG (95)18: Hospital Laundry Arrangements for Used and Infected Linen. This Circular is currently under review. Each would decide, in light of the advice it receives from its infection control team, on the circumstances under which it would launder contaminated personal items during ward closures.

  During outbreaks, each NHS board would also be required to follow the NHSScotland Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection which was published in May 2004. The code is available at:  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/05/19315/36624.

  Paragraph 5.3 of Chapter 5 Prevention and Control of Infection Guidance describes how laundry should be handled during outbreaks and how incidents should be documented by staff.

Justice

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will bring forward legislation to replace the authorisation of Warrants for the Interception of Communications by Scottish Ministers with a system of independent judicial oversight where such warrants are authorised by High Court judges or Sheriffs Principal.

Kenny MacAskill: Interception of communications is a reserved matter.

Legislation

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many legislative consent motions have been lodged since May 2007 and how this figure compares with the same period in the previous eight years.

Bruce Crawford: The information requested is set out in the following tables.

  Session 3

  Number of Legislative Consent Motions Lodged per Parliamentary Year in Session 3

  

4 May 2007 to 10 Apr 2008
8


Total
8



  Session 2

  Number of Legislative Consent Motions Lodged per Parliamentary Year in Session 2

  

7 May 2006 to 29 Mar 2007
8


7 May 2005 to 6 May 2006
8


7 May 2004 to 6 May 2005
9


7 May 2003 to 6 May 2004
13


Total
38



  Session 1

  Number of Legislative Consent Motions Lodged Per Parliamentary Year in Session 1

  

12 May 2002 to 31 Mar 2003
9


12 May 2001 to 11 May 2002
8


12 May 2000 to 11 May 2001
15


12 May 1999 to 11 May 2000
9


Total
41

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to increase social prescribing for mental health patients.

Shona Robison: We published a guidance report last year setting out the care advantages of and steps toward social prescribing for those with anxiety and depression or other mental illness.

  That report, Developing Social Prescribing and Community Referrals for Mental Health in Scotland (Bib. number 45194) provides current service examples and offers guidance on steps that can be taken to encourage and arrange access to the arts; creativity; physical activity; learning; volunteering and other approaches for the potential positive impact these pursuits can have on mental wellbeing. The report sets out roles for community mental health partnerships and others.

  Attention on progress is maintained through our focus on delivering the now four HEAT targets for mental health which include action on alternatives to medication and on reducing admissions to hospital care both of which have relevance to the social prescribing objectives. In addition, work is underway on the contribution that community mental health nurses can make to community referrals/social prescribing and the attention we are promoting to increase access to psychological therapies.

  Further, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 requires local authorities to promote the wellbeing and social development of those individuals who have or who have had a mental disorder, including promoting and facilitating access to recreational, social and cultural activities.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been done on the benefits of social prescribing for mental health patients.

Shona Robison: A range or sources and published research is referenced in our report, Developing Social Prescribing and Community Referrals for Mental Health in Scotland (Bib. number 45194) which also sets out the potential care advantages of social prescribing for those with anxiety and depression or other mental illness.

  The report provides current service examples and offers guidance on steps that can be taken to encourage and arrange access to the arts; creativity; physical activity; learning; volunteering and other approaches for the positive impact these pursuits can have on mental wellbeing.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how GPs are being made aware of the existence or benefits of social prescribing.

Shona Robison: Developing Social Prescribing and Community Referrals for Mental Health in Scotland (Bib. number 45194) was published and promoted within primary care last year setting out the care advantages of and steps toward social prescribing for those with anxiety and depression or other mental illness. The report sets out roles for community mental health partnerships and others.

  As part of the response for the change prompted through the NHS HEAT target for reduction in antidepressant prescribing and national guidelines for the management of different types of depression and anxiety, GP practices are being encouraged and supported by NHS boards, community health partnerships and local mental health teams to refer patients toward non pharmaceutical interventions to address their symptoms of depression and anxiety. This applies for those with or without other long term conditions where clinically appropriate. Alternatives include physical activities, bibliotherapy, volunteering, and others approaches.

NHS 24

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been registered in relation to NHS 24 in each year since its inception, also broken down by NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The following table gives details of the numbers of complaints made to NHS 24 since 2004-05, the first year that NHS 24 was fully operational across Scotland. These may relate solely to NHS 24 or may concern NHS 24 and the services provided by NHS partners. The information is not available broken down by NHS board area.

  

 Year
 Total Call Demand
 Complaints Received


 2004-05
 1,353,533
 378


 2005-06
 1,509,387
 281


 2006-07
 1,462,539
 194


 2007-08*
 1,230,802
 138



  Information supplied by NHS 24.

  Note: *Up to February 2008.

NHS 24

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to measure satisfaction rates of NHS 24 users.

Nicola Sturgeon: Since 2004 NHS 24 has undertaken regular six-monthly patient surveys involving 1,200 randomly selected patients. Respondents are asked a short series of questions about their experience of the service and the return rate is between 25% and 30%. The overall satisfaction rating has been between 86% and 90%.

  In addition, in August 2007, Audit Scotland published its report Primary Care out-of-hours services which showed that satisfaction amongst users of NHS 24 and out-of-hours services is high, with 85% of those surveyed indicating that overall they were satisfied with the service they received.

NHS 24

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the number of cases in which NHS 24 has been found guilty of clinical negligence in each year since 1999, providing details of compensation paid out in each year, and also breaking the figures down by NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: There have been no cases involving NHS 24 in the period referred to.

NHS Complaints

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints against the NHS were made in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11097 on 28 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

NHS Finance

Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money the NHS has lost in each year since 1997 as a result of fraud, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is estimated that up to one percent of the overall NHS budget could be lost to fraud each year.

  NHS boards report identified losses that are recorded on their losses register as part of the annual accounts process in a standard template. Fraud losses are not reported separately but alongside losses from theft, arson and wilful damage. We believe that these reports do not provide a full picture of actual losses sustained by the NHS in Scotland since they relate only to losses incurred and identified. Audit Scotland and NHSScotland Counter Fraud Services also collect information on fraud losses but these do not agree, mainly due to timing and reporting differences. We plan to introduce enhanced reporting by NHS boards of identified/attempted frauds during this financial year.

NHS Finance

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-10718 by Nicola Sturgeon on 10 March 2008 and noting the reference to work on-going before an accurate estimate can be given on the actual costs that will be incurred on the preparation and publication of the proposed annual ownership report on the NHS but recognising that a budget allowance is different from an accurate estimate of costs, what costs it has budgeted in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 for the preparation and publication of the proposed annual ownership report on the NHS.

Nicola Sturgeon: Costs of the report will be met from within the Patient Focus and Public Involvement budget which is currently £5 million.

NHS Hospitals

Angela Constance (Livingston) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can guarantee the future of St John’s Hospital in Livingston as a level 3 intensive treatment unit service after August 2009.

Nicola Sturgeon: I have publicly confirmed that there are no plans to change from a level 3 intensive treatment Unit (ITU) to a level 2 provision at St John’s and that critical care capability will continue to be required at all three acute hospital sites at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, the Western General Hospital and at St John’s Hospital.

  NHS Lothian has publicly committed to retaining all three acute sites and has assured me that they have no plans to change this. The board has confirmed that they are looking at the detail of how these services on all sites will be sustained in view of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) that will reconfigure junior doctors/doctors in training hours in 2009. A working group is presently developing the detailed plans to ensure that the level 3 services are sustained at all three sites after August 2009.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) district nurses, (b) health visitors, (c) school nurses and (d) family health nurses will participate in the community health nurse pilot in NHS Tayside.

Nicola Sturgeon: Exact numbers will not be known until the completion of a detailed analysis of learning needs and mapping of existing professional/educational knowledge and qualifications. Following acquisition of any additional training or education, NHS Tayside will identify the first cohort of staff to test the new model within a phased approach to implementation.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the commitment in Principles and Priorities: The Government’s Programme for Scotland to "increase the number of school nurses" is compatible with the introduction of the community health nurse pilot in NHS Tayside and three other board areas which will amalgamate the posts of school nurse, district nurse, health visitor and family health nurse into the post of generic community health nurse.

Nicola Sturgeon: Our proposed health care support model for children and young people is being developed to meet the commitment in Principles and Priorities: The Government’s Programme for Scotland to increase the number of school nurses and the manifesto commitment to double the number of school nurses.

  The community health nurse is a generalist model which is currently being tested in four NHS boards across Scotland. The two policies are being developed in parallel to allow an informed decision to be made on the best way to deliver effective health care to schools.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the NHS Tayside community health nurse pilot intends to demonstrate that a generalist nurse can be skilled in the respective separate disciplines of school nurse, district nurse, health visitor and family health nurse.

Nicola Sturgeon: The concept of a generalist nurse in the community is not new in Scotland with examples being family health nurses, practice nurses and nurse practitioners. In other countries, notably Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Netherlands and Finland, community nurses work as generalists and in England the community matron is a generalist role. However, the success of the generalist model will require specific support and enhanced co-ordination of care for individuals with complex care needs. The ability to identify when to refer individuals to a more appropriately qualified person is a central aspect of professional accountability. These two issues are intrinsic to the community health nurse model.

  The impact of the new service model will be independently evaluated and will examine the benefits and experiences of individuals, families, communities, nurses and professional colleagues.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional finance NHS Tayside has been given to administer the community health nurse pilot.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has provided additional funding to NHS Tayside to develop the community health nurse pilot as follows:

  2006-07: £115,000

  2007-08: £172,000.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the evaluation of the community health nurse pilot in NHS Tayside will cost.

Nicola Sturgeon: This is unknown as the contract for the evaluation is not yet in place and has yet to be advertised or awarded.

NHS Staff

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional time and resources staff in NHS Tayside will be given for training during the community health nurse pilot.

Nicola Sturgeon: Community Nurses who take part in the Community Health Nurse pilot will be given the time and resources required to develop the skills needed for the new role.

  This will be determined through detailed learning needs analysis, mapping existing professional/educational knowledge and qualifications to the appropriate new job description and Capability Framework (NES 2007). Where new knowledge or skills are required, no practitioner will be expected to deliver care without receiving training/education and professional support to ensure that they practice safely.

NHS Staff

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses have returned to practice after career breaks in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses who have returned to practice after career breaks in each of the last three years have attended return-to-practice courses, broken down by NHS board.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses have self-funded return-to-practice courses on their return to practice after career breaks in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. However, since the return to practice initiative was introduced in 2002, a total of 804 nurses and midwives have returned to practice and received funding to do so.

NHS Staff

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses have received financial support for return-to-practice courses on their return to practice after career breaks in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The requested information is set out in the following table.

  

 
 2005
 2006
 2007


 NHS Borders
 5
 3
 3


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 0
 0
 10


 NHS Fife
 0
 0
 1


 NHS Forth Valley
 0
 2
 0


 NHS Grampian
 13
 26
 0


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 14
 19
 13


 NHS Highland
 0
 2
 9


 NHS Lanarkshire
 6
 7
 0


 NHS Lothian
 34
 31
 51


 NHS Orkney
 0
 0
 5


 NHS Shetland
 8
 0
 0


 NHS Tayside
 6
 0
 0

NHS Staff

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length is of return-to-practice courses for nurses.

Nicola Sturgeon: The lengths of return to practice courses, which include up to 45 days supervised practice, vary according to the needs of the individual so as to meet the requirements of the Nursing and Midwifery Council for return to practice.

NHS Staff

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider providing financial support for nurses attending return-to-practice courses to achieve Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government provides up to £1,500 to support former nurses and midwives to complete return to practice courses and go back to work in NHS Scotland. This funding is linked to an offer of employment in NHS Scotland. Since 2002, £1.2 million funding has been provided to enable 804 nurses and midwives to return to practice.

NHS Waiting Times

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the longest waiting time is in each NHS board for accessing treatment with regard to (a) infertility, (b) alcohol addiction, (c) mental health and (d) physiotherapy.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not available centrally.

  The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that patients have rapid access to the full range of services they need from the NHS. Specific targets are in place for first out-patient appointments following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, for acute hospital admissions following a decision to place a patient on the waiting list, and for treatment for specific conditions, including heart disease and cancer. But the Scottish Government is also committed to improving access and reducing waiting times for a broader range of services, and is supporting the NHS in Scotland to drive down waiting times for services not presently covered by waiting times targets.

  For example, we have published targets and commitments for change and improvement in mental health services to make specific, measurable improvements across the range of service users. We have also allocated £25 million to NHS boards this year specifically for tackling alcohol misuse, up from £10 million last year. This will support boards in ensuring that screening for alcohol misuse and delivering brief interventions, where appropriate, will become standard NHS practice.

Organ Donation

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional donor transplant co-ordinators will be employed by the NHS in 2008.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is clear that we will need to recruit additional donor transplant co-ordinators in Scotland in order to implement recommendation 9 in the first report from the organ donation taskforce, which calls for an expansion and strengthening of the current network of co-ordinators.

  Detailed work is being undertaken on the number of donor transplant co-ordinators that will be required in Scotland under the new arrangements.

Organ Donation

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the 14 recommendations from the organ donation taskforce will be implemented.

Nicola Sturgeon: We intend that the recommendations should be implemented as soon as possible, in view of the shortage of organs for transplantation.

  The Scottish Government is grateful that the Scottish Transplant Group has agreed to oversee implementation in Scotland, and it has already begun work on this. We have also agreed with the Department of Health (DH) in London Scottish representation on the group which is being established to take forward implementation across the whole of the UK, as well as links with the National Clinical Director for Transplantation recently appointed by DH.

Police

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of Strathclyde Police’s wildlife crime officers have received training specific to wildlife crime.

Kenny MacAskill: All Strathclyde Police’s wildlife crime officers are trained in Wildlife Crime Investigation and receive continuous training throughout each year.

Police

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of Strathclyde Police’s wildlife crime officers are employed to deal with wildlife crime on a full-time basis.

Kenny MacAskill: Strathclyde Police has one full-time wildlife crime officer.

  The deployment of personnel to undertake wildlife crime duties is an operational matter for chief constables.

Police

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many days a week over the last reporting period each of Strathclyde Police’s wildlife crime officers have worked specifically on wildlife crime.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally.

Police

Bashir Ahmad (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers have worked in anti-terror operations since 2005, broken down by constabulary.

Kenny MacAskill: This information is not held centrally. Operational decisions are a matter for chief constables.

Rail Network

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government to assess the feasibility of a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Stewart Stevenson: No discussions have yet taken place but we have written to the UK government requesting a meeting to discuss the issue of a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Rail Network

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Network Rail to assess the feasibility of a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Stewart Stevenson: There have been no specific discussions with Network Rail on the feasibility of a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England. Our focus has been on improving journey times generally. The Department for Transport (DfT) have lead responsibility for cross border rail services and we will continue to work with the DfT to achieve faster journeys between Scotland and England.

  We are, of course, keen for the feasibility of high-speed rail on the cross border services to be assessed and have written to the UK Government to request a meeting to discuss this issue.

Rail Network

Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what economic benefits to Scotland it estimates there would be from a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has not carried out an appraisal to estimate the economic benefits to Scotland of a high-speed rail link between Scotland and England.

Smoking

Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the budget for smoking cessation will be allocated in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11, shown in real terms at 2007-08 prices and broken down by NHS board, local authority or other relevant geographical unit.

Shona Robison: In addition to funding available from NHS boards’ general allocations – around £2 million per annum - the following table provides information on the specific allocations made for smoking cessation services and related tobacco control activity shown in real terms at 2007-08 prices and broken down by NHS board. Decisions will be made shortly about the increased allocations which will be made to NHS boards over the next three years from the additional £3 million per annum which has been earmarked under Spending Review 2007 for tobacco control activity.

  

 Health Board
2008-09 Allocations £
2008-09 Allocations
(2007-08 Prices) £
2009-10Allocations
(2007-08 Prices) £
2010-11 Allocations
(2007-08 Prices) £


 Ayrshire and Arran 
 542,000
 527,494
 513,374
 499,636


 Borders
 170,000
 165,450
 161,021
 156,712


 Dumfries and Galloway
 231,000
 224,818
 218,800
 212,944


 Fife
 462,000
 449,635
 437,599
 425,889


 Forth Valley
 373,000
 363,017
 353,300
 343,845


 Grampian
 597,000
 581,022
 565,469
 550,337


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 2,569,000
 2,500,243
 2,433,318
 2,368,200


 Highland
 455,000
 442,822
 430,969
 419,436


 Lanarkshire
 1,147,000
 1,116,302
 1,086,421
 1,057,348


 Lothian
 1,311,000
 1,275,912
 1,241,759
 1,208,529


 Orkney
 53,000
 51,582
 50,201
 48,857


 Shetland
 59,000
 57,421
 55,884
 54,388


 Tayside
 949,000
 923,601
 898,879
 874,824


 Western Isles
 82,000
 79,805
 77,669
 75,591


 Total 
 9,000,000
 8,759,124
 8,524,665
 8,296,537

Wheelchairs

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive through which government bodies the additional money for wheelchair and seating services announced in the spending review will be distributed and what allocations these government bodies will receive.

Shona Robison: The additional funding of £16 million from the 2007 Spending Review (£4 million in 2008-09, £6 million in 2009-10 and £6 million in 2010-11) will be distributed through NHS boards to the five rehabilitation technology centres in Scotland.

  The funding will be subject to the submission of business cases for approval by the Wheelchair and Seating Services Project Board, which meet the objectives and recommendations of the report Moving Forward: Review of NHS Wheelchair and Seating Services in Scotland.

Wheelchairs

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision has been taken recently to implement a year-on-year increase in NHS wheelchair and seating services under the provisions of the spending review.

Shona Robison: The 2007 Spending Review has identified a total of £16 million over the next three years for the development and modernisation of wheelchair and seating services (£4 million in 2008-09, £6 million in 2009-10 and £6 million in 2010-11). This demonstrates the Scottish Government’s real commitment to the modernisation, restructuring and provision of sustainable wheelchair and seating services.

  The funding will be released following approval of business cases by the Wheelchair and Seating Services Project Board to ensure that the resources are focused in areas that will be of most benefit to the greatest number of service users.

Wheelchairs

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with NHS boards anent the ring fencing of boards’ contributions to wheelchair centres.

Shona Robison: NHS boards have a responsibility to provide adequate funding for wheelchair and seating services. The Chair of the Wheelchair and Seating Services Project Board has written to NHS boards, setting out the importance attached to the wheelchair project and that their commitment is required to realise its aims.

Wheelchairs

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposals are to hand anent the review of the previous administration’s decision that each NHS board should retain responsibility for wheelchair and seating services in preference to a nationally administered and financed service.

Shona Robison: Locating health services close to communities supports the provision of faster and more effective treatment. To achieve this, there is a need for services to join up, co-locate and share resources to provide a seamless patient journey. One of the main routes to achieve this will be through the community health partnerships, which involve community partners beyond health including, most notably, local authorities.

  The current location of the five rehabilitation technology centres provides a natural geographical spread of the services throughout the country. The project board will look at ways to enhance the services including local satellite centres, which will be more accessible to local communities. This is already happening with the introduction of satellite clinics in the west of Scotland and in Tayside.

Wheelchairs

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether proposals are to hand to modify the eligibility criteria for powered wheelchairs in order to include individuals who require attendant-controlled powered wheelchairs.

Shona Robison: The project board and project manager will review and update the eligibility criteria for powered wheelchairs, including attendant-controlled powered wheelchairs, as part of the wheelchair and seating services project.

Wheelchairs

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many military veterans have been given manual or powered NHS wheelchairs in the last three years and whether funds were provided by the Ministry of Defence for this equipment.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. Veterans access services provided by NHSScotland, including rehabilitation technology services, in the same way as the general population.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliament Building

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how the Parliament will support the Earth Hour event taking place at 8.00 pm on 29 March 2008.

Alex Johnstone: The SPCB has set a target to reduce energy consumption by 8% by March 2009 and is on course to achieve this target with energy consumption down by 6% by March 2008. Careful management of lighting in the building by switching non-essential lights off when not required has contributed towards reducing electricity consumption.

  On the evening of 29 March 2008, an additional check was undertaken to ensure that non-essential lights were switched off. A number of lights must remain on at all times to comply with health and safety and fire safety requirements, as the building is occupied 24 hours a day by security personnel.

  In addition, information about Earth Hour was distributed with the Corporate Bulletin on Friday 28 March and all building users were encouraged to take part in Earth Hour.